After some checking on eBay and other online sellers to see what I might get for my 2.33GHz MacBook Pro, I made the decision to buy the refurbished machine--but not without at least some trepidation. This was, after all, a machine that a customer had returned to Apple for some reason or another. Would I get a lemon that had been basically cleaned and repackaged? The short answer is no. The slightly longer answer is that a refurbished Apple product meets the same high standards as do new Apple products.
Before being offered for sale, each returned machine is cleaned, defective parts are replaced, the machine is fully tested, and it's then repackaged with everything (hardware and software) that came with the original machine when new. Each refurbished machine includes the standard one-year Apple warranty, and is eligible for protection. All of this is explained in detail on the Special Deals web site, and it definitely made my purchase decision easier.
Sure, I could have saved even more money by buying a used Mac, of course. But then I wouldn't have the one-year Apple warranty, the three-year AppleCare option, or the knowledge that my machine was cleaned, tested, and in perfect working condition before being sent out.
When the machine arrived a few days later, there was one immediately noticeable difference between it and a brand-new Mac: the packaging made it obvious that I hadn't splurged on brand-new hardware. But really, after saving $1,000, I didn't much care.
Opening up the plain brown box ("Honest, honey, it is a computer!") revealed a few interior compartments, holding (as promised) the original software and hardware that came with the machine. I unboxed everything and studied it closely looking for signs of damage, but there wasn't any to be found. The case was dent free, the screen showed no scratches, all the lettering was on the keyboard keys, and there wasn't any sign that the palm rests had ever been used. Looking at my MacBook Pro, there's no way you could tell it wasn't a brand new machine. With the initial inspection complete, I plugged it in, pressed the power button, and was rewarded with the sweet sound of the Mac's normal startup chime.